Octavia was the daughter of Gaius Octavius and his second wife, Atia. Before 54 bc Octavia was married to Gaius Marcellus, by whom she had two daughters and a son. On the death of Marcellus in 40 she was married to Mark Antony, who at the time was ruling the Roman state with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. At first this marriage helped to reduce tensions between Antony and Octavian, and when the two rulers quarreled in 37, Octavia brought about peace between them, which resulted in the Treaty of Tarentum. But in 36 Antony left Italy to command troops in Parthia and while in the East resumed his liaison with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Although Octavia brought troops and money to him (35), he refused to see her, and in 32 he obtained a divorce. Octavia was a faithful wife and mother who raised Antony’s children by Cleopatra along with her own children. After the death of her son Marcellus in 23, she withdrew from public life. The Porticus of Octavia in Rome is named for her.

Learn More in these related articles:

September 23, 63 bce August 19, 14 ce Nola, near Naples [Italy] first Roman emperor, following the republic, which had been finally destroyed by the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and adoptive father. His autocratic regime is known as the principate because he was the princeps, the...

83 August, 30 bce Alexandria, Egypt Roman general under Julius Caesar and later triumvir (43–30 bce), who, with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, was defeated by Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) in the last of the civil wars that destroyed the Roman Republic.

...prominence, getting the smallest share. Octavian, who was to control Italy, met armed opposition from Antony’s brother and wife, but they got no help from Antony and were defeated at Perusia (41). Octavian and Antony sealed their alliance with a marriage compact: Antony married Octavia, Octavian’s sister. Octavian then confronted Pompey’s son Sextus Pompeius, who had seized control of the...